How to kill a pirate frigate with a battlecruiser

I've killed three Hurricanes (1, 2, 3) in the last few days. In all cases, the main obstacle was breaking their tank - never was I in any real danger. I also died in 20 seconds while attacking the fourth. What was the difference?

A Hurricane-class battlecruiser

The Hurricane is a fearsome ship, but as with all large ships a small, fast frigate can prove to be a thorn in its side. If you have a battlecruiser-classed ship and want to take on a few belt rats without worrying about pirate frigates, here's how to do it in a smart manner:

First: never sit on the warp-to-0 point. The rats will follow you or come to you if you warp to 50 or 100. Being far from the warp-in point will give you precious time to decide what to do when an interloper arrives.

Second: Do not carry medium drones only. Be sure to have a full flight of small drones at your disposal. Use medium-sized guns on your ship to kill rats; use small drones to attack hostile frigates.

Third: If you decide not to run, be the first one to attack. The frigate will have to close range; it is then when it's vulnerable. Once it begins to orbit at 1000, all your nice medium turrets will be good only for shooting empty space. This is also a good time to let it have the taste of your 5 small T2 drones.

Medium guns versus an orbiting frigate

When you set your drones on the frigate, it will take its focus from you to the drones (if the pod pilot wants to live - no frigate can tank 5 small T2 drones). It will continue to orbit and point you, but will web and shoot at the drones. This is the time to make your move - you're not webbed and can move as fast as you can (without MWD if you are scrammed). Try to escape or move towards the asteroids. If you have a web, use it on the frigate. It will fall behind and its transversal velocity will drop, which means your guns will be able to hit it. You can also keep watch on your drones - if you see a drone being damaged, recall it to your drone bay for a while. This will force the frigate to shift its focus.

And the last, fourth point: Equip a medium neutralizer. I can tell you that having your capacitor drop to zero while trying to align and escape is a depressing experience. It's also a short and deadly one :)